Oregon State baseball coach Pat Casey has been paying more attention to the San Francisco Giants lately now that Andrew Susac, his former catcher with the Beavers, has been called up to their Major League roster.

As he sat at home over the weekend watching the Bay Area franchise drop its fourth straight game, Casey saw recently acquired second baseman Dan Uggla struggle in the field. Uggla made his third error in as many games, which gave Casey an idea about one of his other former players.

The next morning, Casey smiled when he heard Barney had instead been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, putting him on the other side of one of baseball's most heated rivalries.

"I think (the trade) is great," Casey said in an interview with The Oregonian on Tuesday. "I think if Darwin gets with a club that has some stability, or more stability, I think there will be more of a plan for him. I hope there is."

Barney, 28, has been at the center of trade rumors all year. The graduate of Southridge High School in Beaverton blossomed into one of the best defensive infielders in baseball over his three full seasons with the Cubs, but his offense bottomed out in 2013 when he hit a career-worst .208.

As Chicago continued to stock its farm system with talented infielders, it became clear that Barney would be expendable despite his fielding capabilities.

View full sizeBarney (6) won two national championships at Oregon State and was picked by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2007 MLB Draft following his junior year.Ross William Hamilton/The Oregonian

He played in 72 games for the club this season with the constant knowledge that his days in the Wrigley Field home dugout were numbered. Barney still struggled from the plate, hitting .230, but had one of the highest defensive WAR ratings for second basemen in the majors.

For Tom Campbell, Barney's high school coach, the year reminded him of the way the all-state infielder once performed for him.

"The tougher situation, the better he played," Campbell said of Barney's time at Southridge.

Campbell, who now coaches at Tigard High School, believes Chicago's losing ways were the toughest thing on his former player.

Barney was one of two freshmen in his lengthy coaching career to be called up to the varsity roster. The future Major Leaguer scored the winning run in the 2002 state championship game for Southridge, the first state title in the school's history, and had five decisions on the mound – three wins and two saves – in the program's six-game playoff run.

At Oregon State, Barney was an integral part of the Beavers' back-to-back national championship teams in 2006 and 2007.

But when Barney was in the everyday lineup from 2011 to 2013, the Cubs went 198-288, the third-worst record in baseball over that three-year stretch.

"I think it's a huge boost for him ... to be able to get out of that situation in Chicago," Campbell said.

View full sizeBarney, seen as a sophomore at Southridge, led the school to a state championship in the program's third year.Tom Treick/The Oregonian

Now with the N.L. West-leading Dodgers, both Campbell and Casey agree their pupil will feel more at home fighting for a championship.

Casey is also optimistic that Barney's offensive game will pick up now that a more potent offensive roster surrounds him.

"If you're not winning and you've got to score more runs ... your bat has to come into play more than it should be for a player like that," Casey said. "I think if he gets surrounded by those bats in L.A., then his style of play is really going to flourish and he's going to be a very integral part of them winning.

"Winning comes out of his pores."

After Casey heard that Barney landed in southern California on Monday, he sent him a congratulatory text and informed his former shortstop of his attempts to get him to San Francisco.

Barney responded that he was surprised he landed in Los Angeles but was excited for the challenge being thrown into a pennant race – a test the Oregon State coach believes he will thrive in.

"With his personality and his charisma, Darwin could survive in the Sahara Desert with half a cup of water. He would attract a camel somehow," Casey said.